Search

Background & Objectives: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) showed a significant risk to develop local recurrences or second primary tumours during follow-up. Recently, we developed a non-invasive assay based on oral brushing and DNA methylation analysis to early detect OSCC. In the present study using this assay, we investigated the adjacent area of surgical resection in a series of OSCC during follow-up for prog- nostic purposes. Methods: 42 consecutive OSCC patients were sampled during routine follow-up after 6 months from surgical treatment, brushing the regenera- tive mucosa covering the region that underwent the surgical OSCC exci- sion. DNA methylation level of ZAP70, GP1BB, KIF1A, ITGA4, LINC00599, MIR193, MIR296, TERT, LRRTM1, NTM, EPHX3, FLI1 and PARP15 was evaluated by quantitative Bisulfite-NGS. After calcu- lating a score by Linear-Discriminant-Analysis, the samples were dichot- omized using a predefined threshold previously developed for early di- agnosis. One-Way-ANOVA and Kaplan-Meier curves served to evaluate any significant difference between patients who experienced a second neoplastic manifestation and the group who did not. Results: 6/42 (14,3%) patients developed a second neoplastic manifesta- tion during follow-up period (mean follow-up: 14.3 months), of which 5 showed a positive methylation score. Additional 11 patients exceeded the threshold but up to date they have not experienced any second manifes- tation. Among the remaining 26 negatives, only one developed a recur- rence. A positive score correlated with a worse locoregional control of disease (p

Background & Objectives: Intra-tumoural heterogeneity (ITH) displayed by tumour cells represents a diagnostic challenge when assessing tumour mutational profile aimed to the delivery of effective targeted therapies. In Oral Squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), ITH has been reported both in tumour cells and in related adjacent mucosa. The presence of genetic heterogeneity in the adjacent mucosa can be interpreted as evidence of the field cancerization phenomenon (field het- erogeneity, FH). Aim of this study was to investigate the clinical impact of ITH and FH on loco regional control. Methods: Ten OSCC patients who received radical surgery and staged T2-T4 (5 recurrent and 5 non-recurrent) were enrolled in this study. Multiple areas were sampled from the bulk of the tumour and the adjacent non-neoplastic mucosa. NGS mutational analysis of 10 OSCC driver genes were investigated and used to calculate ITH and FH among differ- ent area of the tumour. Results: Mutational analysis highlighted that a single sample is often scarcely accurate in assessing genetic profiles of tumours. High values of ITH were found in both groups with a tendency to be higher in recur- rent OSCC (p=0,095). Interestingly, the FH was found significantly lower in the non-recurrent OSCC group (p=0,032).

This blinded trial was conducted to analyze possible correlations between the cervical vertebrae maturation method (CVM) and the mineralization of mandibular teeth as described by Demirjian et al. (TMS). Panoramic and cephalometric radiographs of 500 orthodontic patients were analyzed by two blinded operators. TMS was utilized to analyze mineralization of second molar, second and first premolar and canine on the left side of the mandible; CVM stage was also evaluated. A blinded statistician performed statistical correlations and multiple regression analysis. Significant relations between CVM and TMS stages were identified for each tooth. Significant age differences resulted for CVM, second molar and second premolar (p

Objectives:microRNAs have recently proposed as potential biomarkers in the early detec-tion of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OSCCs) by noninvasive methods.Aim of the present study was to analyze the expression of a panel of miRNAs in epithelialcells collected by oral brushing from OSCCs and their respective normal mucosa in distantareas and from regenerative areas after OSCC surgical resectionMethods:Oral brushing specimens were collected from: 13 OSCC (group 1a) and theirrespective normal mucosa in distant areas (group 1b), 12 samples from regenerative areasafter OSCC surgical resection (group 2a) and their respective normal mucosa in distantareas (group 2b), 17 lichenoid lesions (group 3) and 24 normal mucosa from healthy con-trols (group 4). In all different groups the expression levels of miRNAs were evaluated byreal time PCR. Seven target were evaluated (i.e. mir-21, miR-375, miR-345, miR-181b,miR146a, miR-649, miR-518b). The miRNA expression levels across groups wereassessed by ANOVA statistics or student t test for paired samplesResults:miR345, miR146, miR649 e miR518 showed a significant different expression inOSCC group with respect to healthy donors, but a similar and not significant expressionwith respect to their respective normal mucosa in distant areas (group 1b). MoreovermiR146 showed a significantly different expression in regenerative areas after OSCC sur-gical resection with respect to healthy donors, but not significant difference with respect totheir respective normal mucosa in distant areas. No significant differences were foundbetween lichenoid lesions and healthy donors in any miRNAs analyzed.Conclusions:miRNA analysis in epithelial cells collected by oral brushing has demon-strated the presence an altered profile expression not only in OSCC but also in distantareas from OSCC and in regenerative areas after OSCC surgical resectionRelevance:Analysis of miRNA expression from oral brushing could be proposed as anon invasive method to study oral mucosa in OSCC patients.

One of the most commonly observed adverse effects of cyclosporin A (CsA) is the development of gingival overgrowth (GO). Fibroblasts are involved in GO, but the question why only a percentage of patients undergoing CsA treatment shows this side-effect remains unanswered. In a previous study, CsA has been demonstrated to induce over-expression of phospholipase C (PLC) beta(1) in fibroblasts of patients with clinical GO, in cells from both enlarged and clinically healthy gingival sites. In this work, we assessed the expression of PLC beta isoforms to investigate whether the exaggerated fibroblast response to CsA related to increased PLC beta(1) expression could also be detected in CsA-treated patients without clinical signs of GO. Our results support the hypothesis of a multi-factorial origin of gingival overgrowth, including specific changes within the gingival tissues orchestrating fibroblastic hyper-responsiveness as a consequence of a long-term in vivo exposure to cyclosporin A.

The aim of the study was to investigate the presence of Treponema denticola in primary and secondary root-infected canal systems with periapical pathology and correlations with clinical signs and symptoms.Endodontic samples were obtained from canals of 102 teeth: 79 had primary endodontic disease and 23 secondary endodontic disease. For each tooth, clinical data including symptoms and X-ray appearance were examined. The presence of T. denticola biological samples from the root canal space was detected by a PCR assay.T. denticola was detected in 24 out of the 79 teeth with primary infection and in 8 out of the 23 teeth with secondary infection. Teeth with specific clinical symptoms were frequently associated with T. denticola presence inside the root canal system.The presence of T. denticola in root canal system in association with specific clinical signs and symptoms of endodontic disease strongly suggests that this spirochete might play a critical role in the pathogenesis of the acute infection and rapid bone tissue alterations in both primary and secondary endodontic infections.

Direct person-to-person transmission of periodontal bacteria through saliva has recently been widely reported and dental units have been demonstrated to retract saliva from patients under treatment and to release it into the mouths of subjects undergoing the next operation. In this study the presence of a group of periodontal pathogenic bacteria inside waterlines in dental units was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based methods. Briefly, 18 dental units of three different manufacturers were studied. Dental units were divided into two groups according to their prevalent use in routine practice. The first group consisted of nine dental units characterized by the frequent use of high-speed dental hand-pieces directly inside the mouth and in contact with patients' saliva. The second group, as a control, consisted of nine dental units where high-speed dental hand-pieces were not in use. A one cm section of the waterline tubing connected to the high-speed hand-piece was removed from each dental unit to evaluate the presence of DNA of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Bacteroides forsythus, Treponema denticola. Two specimens were positive for Prevotella intermedia DNA. All the positive results were from samples obtained from dental units categorised in the first group. These findings clearly suggest that dental units have the potential to transmit periodontal pathogens. Manufacturers should be invited to design dental units that incorporate automated devices to disinfect DUWLs between patients with minimal effort by dental staff.